If you’re talking to somebody in Richmond this week and they keep asking you, “What? Huh?” it might be because they went to the NASCAR race this past weekend at Richmond International Raceway and their hearing is shot for a while. It. Was. LOUD!
Have Tickets, Will Race
I married my husband knowing he was a NASCAR fan. He said for 10 years that he wanted me to go to a race with him. Well, the unthinkable happened this past weekend: I went with him and his brother to Richmond International Raceway to watch my first NASCAR race.
I’d like to share my experience with you because I’m sure there are lots of moms out there with kids who love race cars, Lightning McQueen and Dale Jr. who have wondered, “Hmmm…. What would it be like to take my child to a race?” Let me first say: Despite my reluctance to go, I enjoyed myself. The atmosphere? Pretty fun! The food? Not very healthy and kind of pricey, but still yummy –not unlike the State Fair!
That said, if my race-going experience was a movie I would give it a PG-13. Smoking, drinking and cussing are prevalent. We also saw a few people pulling down their pants to reveal things written on their undies. (Frankly, my kids would have loved that – we’re into potty humor at our house!). We rented the scanners so we could hear the drivers talking – which was neat but I would also rate it as PG-13.
Rating aside, the event required quite a time commitment: lots of time waiting to park, walking to our seats, and watching the cars race for 400 laps. We were out from 3:30 PM to 11 PM and that’s on the shorter side of what most people do. That’s a long day for little ones. Plus, it is a lot of walking. During the race itself I found it difficult to follow and kind of boring after a while so I can only imagine that little ones would get bored and cranky.
I cannot stress how loud it was. It is LOUD. I mean, if I could capitalize my capitals on LOUD, I would do it. Kids must have some sort of ear protection and even with my rented, professional-grade supersize headphone/earmuffs on, the noise still made me dizzy at times. It left me looking at the babies, toddlers and other youngsters wondering – Could there be long-term damage to their ears from this?
I think you can take certain steps to ensure it is more family-friendly. We definitely saw people there with little ones, though most kids were tweens and teens. For starters, there are Family Sections with ticketing and features designed for the under-12 crowd, like no alcohol or smoking allowed. For getting to the race, you can park in a section that provides buses to the race complex. However, I’m not sure there’s any way to get around the fact that there will be crowds and waiting. So bring other things to keep your child entertained.
The few kids sitting near us seemed to be having a good time. One little boy about six, there with his dad, was playing with his race car. Another one, about ten, had the scanner headphones and was dancing and cheering the whole time. Personally, I wouldn’t really consider taking my son until he’s at least six. There are other ways to enjoy NASCAR for kids, like qualifying events the night before a race at which parking is much easier and kids are free. My husband took my 3-year-old son to one of these and he still talks about it!
To learn more about what goes on at the Richmond International Raceway, click here.
About Mary Beth Cox